Lamb does it again...Blue Rocks win both games!

Wilmington, DE - Buddy Baumann and John Lamb, both had fantastic starts tonight in the Carolina League double-header against the leagues best hitting team, the Baltimore Orioles Advanced Class A level, Frederick Keys. Both Wilmington Blue Rocks lefties did exceptionally well against a very good hitting club. The Blue Rocks won the first game 10-1 and the second game 2-0, making it their first twin bill sweep of the 2010 season.

John Lamb is 6-2 with a 1.28 ERA in 11 starts for Wilmington. (Keith Lovett/MiLB.com)

John Lamb has now extended his consecutive scoreless frames to 30 and continues to pile up the strike-outs in the process. Lamb only allowed 1 hit during his 6 innings of work including 8 Ks, 1 BB and hit 1 batter that seemed to excite the Keys dug-out following previous warnings to both teams. The Keys batter was struck by a 1-2 count curve-ball, which was obviously not intentional as deemed by the home plate umpire.

My son was interviewed following the game, as the "Player of the Game," and provided a clear perspective that my son continues to work hard and have fun during his second season of professional baseball. He is having a wonderful season and we are very blessed to share the highlights through the Blue Rocks radio broadcast. The only word that comes to mind is...wow!

Lamb set for second game of tonight's DH in Wilmington...

Wilmington, DE - The Wilmington Blue Rocks are scheduled to play a double-header today at Frawley Stadium to make-up yesterday’s game that was postponed due to bad weather.

Buddy Baumann is set to start the first game at 5:05 ET against the Frederick Keys and John Lamb will take the ball in the second game of the Carolina League contest.



Tonight’s start for John Lamb, first as a 20 year-old, should easily accomplish the 100 inning mark for the first time in his young professional baseball career, following his move from Burlington, IA earlier this season.
 
 
 
GO BLUE ROCKS!
 
 
 

John Lamb 2010 statistics!

Last win for the teenager Lamb...Blue Rocks sweep series!

Lynchburg, VA - Three Wilmington Blue Rocks pitchers combined on a shut out performance to make a clean sweep of the Lynchburg Hillcats series and allowing only four hits. John Lamb, Harold Mozingo and Barry Bowden kept the Hillcats from scoring despite the threat when Lamb was pulled from the game with a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning with no outs and two runners on base.

 

Although the Blue Rocks bats were much cooler than last night, they proved more than adequate in helping Wilmington achieve a 43-43 record. The Rocks finished their road trip with a 5-2 mark and sole possession of first place. Nick Francis, Jarrod Dyson, Christian Colon and, the legitimate youngster of the team, Wil Myers drove in all the Rocks runs. Timely hitting, solid defense and good pitching again prove to be the simple formula to win baseball games even with a little moisture falling from the sky.



With John Lamb turning 20 tomorrow, he finished his teenage professional baseball stats on a high note by picking up his fifth win in the ten starts since being called up to the, Advanced Class A level, Carolina League. Lamb threw 75% of his 72 pitches for strikes while allowing 3 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk and striking out 4.



The Blue Rocks return home for an eight day home stand and a day off between the next two series. They will play Myrtle Beach Pelicans for three games starting tomorrow and a four game series against Frederick Keys following a day off the schedule.



GO BLUE ROCKS!

Lamb good again...Rocks take the series!

John Lamb gave his Wilmington Blue Rocks a chance to win with his 8th start of the year in the Carolina League. It is can always be somewhat of a challenge to pitch on the road, but Lamb continues to be steady with the numbers home or away during his first full season in professional baseball.

Lamb had a high pitch count during his work tonight due to patient Frederick Keys hitters and again the high strike-out count. The line on Lamb was 4 innings, 6 hits, 1 run, 0 earned runs, 1 walk and 7 strike-outs in 86 pitches. When Lamb handed the ball to the bull-pen the Blue Rocks had a 3-1 lead, but unfortunately could not qualify for the win.




Hodgson and Mozingo both teamed up to hold off a late inning surge in the bottom of the 9th to take the series from the Keys in Frederick, MD. Ivor Hodgson had a very solid performance into the 9th and qualified for the win, while Harold Mozingo came in and got the save.



Adrian Ortiz hit his first Blue Rocks home run during his 4-for-5 night at the plate. Another note, worth mentioning was the Christian Colon debut that was very quiet at the plate. He finished the night 0-for-5 with two strikeouts. It is very safe to say that this will not be the only night he has nothing to show at the plate, during his career, but the kid can simply play the game and he is a wonderful addition to the organization.

The Blue Rocks return home to fend off the Lynchburg Hillcats, Advanced Class A team of the Cincinnati Reds organization, for a short 3 game stand. The current rotation has Lamb pitching the next two starts on the road and he will not be throwing at home until July 15. At least he won’t be a teenager the next time he pitches in front of the Wilmington crowd.
 
 
- - - James Lamb
 
Baseball Prospect Guide

Lamb grabs his 2nd "POW" honor...

Very proud of my son, John Lamb, and his second "Pitcher of Week" Award during his young professional baseball career. The weekly honors were announced much earlier today on Minor League Baseball and throughout all of the leagues.

Lamb will get the ball tomorrow night in Frederick, MD against the Keys, Advanced Class A team of the Baltimore Orioles organization. Tuesday's start will be his 16th of the season and just another day at the ballpark for him, I am sure. However, it will match his number of starts in the Midwest League earlier this year prior to his call-up to the Wilmington Blue Rocks.

Congratulations again to all of those minor league players that received the honors today for their recent performances.



- - - James Lamb

Baseball Prospect Guide

Next Carolina League start on Tuesday for Lamb...

John Lamb is back on the road again, Tuesday, in Frederick against the Keys for his 16th start of the season. Radio broadcast will be available on the Wilmington Blue Rocks site at http://www.bluerocks.com.

Meanwhile, I am staying busy with scouting and coaching in the Southern California area. Recently, following permission by the Marlins, I have returned to the dugout with a Connie Mack baseball team called the OC Giants. We have a wide variety of talent on the team and continue to struggle with the "one bad inning" bug almost every game.

Our family has also decided to welcome a 16 year-old from Florida into our home and the opportunity to play in California during the summer, on the OC Giants team. We felt a sense of responsibility to the game when asked to help and we are grateful for the chance to give back, as so many have done for our son over the years.


- - - James Lamb

http://www.4-domain.com/

Blue Rocks and Lamb lose the last game of series against the Keys.

John Lamb might not have had his best stuff on the mound today against the Frederick Keys but his ERA didn't move. His Carolina League efforts to give his team the chance to win continued in front of a 5,743 fans at Frawley Stadium, earlier today. The sun was out and the humidity was up along with the temperature, but the bats of the Wilmington Blue Rocks were cold.

Lamb was pitching to contact today, during his six innings of work, rather than the typical pile of strike outs during previous professional baseball appearances. Not the end of the world, but while throwing to contact the defense needs to play catch behind you. Errors allowed 2 of the 3 total runs to cross the plate while Lamb continued to pound the strike zone with 68 percent of his thrown pitches. Lamb also struck out 3, walked 1 and allowed 8 hits during his 79 pitch count performance.

I'm sure if you asked John Lamb he would say it was a bad day, but I beg to differ. Throwing strikes and giving your team a chance to win is all a starting pitcher can really do when he gets the ball every 5 days. You need a little defense and run support to win ball games along with pitchers that throw strikes.

The Frederick Keys starting pitcher, Zagone, did a good job going the distance. However, the cold, aggressive bats of the Blue Rocks hitters enabled the 2008 draft pick to throw his first complete game in a very long time. He recorded his three outs in one of the innings on just five pitches. Need I say more.

I have way to many opinions on the approach at winning ball games to comment, but as a dad I remind myself regularly that minor league baseball is about development and the process of elimination. Most of the minor league professional baseball games I see encompass the lack of patience at the plate.

For now, the Blue Rocks will have the day off tomorrow and start a road trip on Friday. John Lamb will ring the bell for the third time on the road in 6 days with the mentioned day off.

GO BLUE ROCKS!


- - - James Lamb

Baseball Prospect Guide